A Joint Venture Aboard

Our next cruising life will be different than our first by orders of magnitude.

• The first time we cast off in our 20s on a 27-foot boat, this time we leave in our 40s on a 40-foot boat.
• The first time we were alone and our romantic relationship was just beginning, this time we have two kids and we are married.
• The first time our cruising adventure was a trip limited to 7 months, this time cruising is a lifestyle with an open time horizon.
• The first time Internet cafes did not exist, this time we will likely carry a satellite phone.
• The first time we left with no income and very little money, this time we...oh, no change there.

Michael and Windy on Isla Providencia, Columbia, 1997
www.sailboat-cruising-with-kids.com

For me, the biggest difference will be our joint relationship to the boat and the life. When I "hired" Windy as my crew on the first trip, I'd spent the previous four years living aboard and preparing the boat and myself for the adventure. When Windy joined me, she'd only previously been aboard Del Viento for a day sail and it was not her home. She was competent, but deferred to me for every decision, there was no question which of us was both the owner and captain.

This time, I am eager for the new dynamic. I am eager to experience this next phase of our lives as equally vested partners and decision makers. (We've already agreed that in the case of decision making, where there are differences in opinion, the most conservative decision will stand. This is to say that Windy will be the final arbiter for all decisions.)

While we will each in this new life gravitate towards our own areas of expertise when it comes to allocating the workload, it is important to both of us that neither of us be incapable of managing the boat single handed. This will be a big distinction from the first cruising life and will require a determined effort by Windy to reach her own level of comfort in this regard. What will make it easier, and pleasurable, is that I will be learning alongside her.

Our Dickenson solid fuel heater
www.sailboat-cruising-with-kids.comI have very limited experience sailing such a comparatively large vessel, and I have never been in command of a boat over 30 feet (the difference between 30 and 40 feet is not factored linearly, but geometrically--much like how a 4.0-magnitude earthquake may not be felt by many, yet a 7.0-magnitude quake is likely to devastate a city). She and I will step aboard the next Del Viento on near-equal footing, and for that I am grateful.

While our shared ownership interest in the boat is a legal fact, the other day Windy moved one step ahead in her emotional ownership. She bought the heater we will need aboard when we venture north. It is a Dickinson Newport solid fuel fireplace that she bought used and that we will leave with her folks in San Francisco and install aboard Del Viento when we are there.

$200 poorer, and another step closer to our new life.

--MR

Pets

Frances and Honey
www.sailboat-cruising-with-kids.comNine years ago at the Washington Humane Society, I solemnly signed the adoption documents. Did we have any children? No. Allergies? No. Fenced yard? Yes. Can you afford the cost of pet ownership? Yes. Will you provide the animal with a "forever home?" Yes...

"Re-homing" is what the animal rescue people call it when you give your pet away to a good home, and over the next year we will re-home five times. It will be among the hardest things we do to prepare for boat life.

Honey was seven years old when we adopted her. An animal rescue guy who was checking on a dog our neighbor recently adopted told us about a great dog, middle aged, and well-trained. I don't think he actually said her time at the shelter was running low, but somehow it was obvious. The story was that she previously belonged to an enlisted man who was forced to give her up when he was deployed. We soon discovered she knew how to speak, roll over, and play dead. She knew the silent hand signals of advanced obedience training. We believed the military story. When "The Plan" was conceived Honey was twelve years old. She's a large dog and larger dogs tend to live shorter lives. This year she's sixteen.

Frances and Mit
www.sailboat-cruising-with-kids.com

Mit came from the New York Avenue shelter. We'd scanned the cards on each cage looking for old dates -- those next in line for euthanasia. But for Mike it was love at first sight. "Mittens" didn't have any, so Mit she was. Mit is a special cat. It took us some time to convince the girls that "you just don't do these things to animals," because they did, and Mit complied without complaint and seemed adore the girls even more with her kitty backpack on, and shades. Mit also has an affinity for large dogs, loud parties, and cereal with milk left unguarded on the dining room table.

Georgia
www.sailboat-cruising-with-kids.comMit needed a friend (this was long before the girls were born) and we found Georgia at the Georgia Avenue shelter just down the road from our house. She was young but already had grown kittens in adjacent cages. Aloof and scrawny with humongous ears, Mike thought she was ugly. But there she was with a very compelling date on her card. She's still a bit mysterious, coming and going quietly and then unexpectedly settling into your lap. She's matured into a lovely cat, gentle and sleek with a loud motor.

Eleanor and Red
www.sailboat-cruising-with-kids.comThe chickens were a different story. We knew from the beginning that we would need to find them another home before long. Chickens are surprisingly cute and funny once you get to know them. As a chick, Mohawk resembled a punk-rocker and Georgia's markings resembled, well, Georgia the cat. They march into the coop at dusk without fail, and sleep until dawn when they awake quietly, or not, depending on who is laying, or not. They want to be inside, eating people food and sleeping on soft beds. They don't get to do this so they peer sideways longingly through the glass of the back door. Chickens are not a lot of work, but they do require diligent care and constant vigilance against predators (as we sadly experienced, R.I.P. Red). Re-homes for Mohawk and Georgia and their cute little wooden coop are a dime a dozen, but we'll need to be choosy to find a home where they are safe and well cared for. 

Re-homing ideas are brewing and over the next few months we'll start seriously weighing our options. We'll consider a timeline based on when we expect to put the house on the market, and especially, on impact on the girls and the animals. Generous offers have come from friends already. Placing our pets with people we know and trust -- people who can send pictures -- could help ease the transition for the girls, and simplify the vetting process. The plan is to include Eleanor and Frances as much as possible. I hope their sadness will be tempered a bit knowing we've all worked hard to find happy homes for our beloved pets. Finally, should she reach the ripe old age of seventeen, I've been scoping out a retirement home for Honey in a beautiful semi-rural location on Railroad Avenue, complete with enclosed yard and indoor-outdoor access though a doggie door just her size ; ).

--WR

Michael and Red
www.sailboat-cruising-with-kids.com

We Are Boat Owners!

Prophetic fortune cookies?
www.sailboat-cruising-with-kids.com"You will soon be crossing the great waters" and "Now is the time to try something new." A good sign, no? I know you are thinking "crossing the great waters" is a Chinese metaphor for death, but it's not.

Did I mention we are boat owners?!

--WR

Brokers and Jokers

Bumfuzzle site, Oeste pictured
www.bumfuzzle.com

One of the current themes running on the Bumfuzzle blog is a frustration with yacht brokers. Pat and Ally are incredulous following their dealings with brokers on both coasts: phone calls and emails not returned, a lack of knowledge about listed boats (and an unwillingness to pursue answers to buyer questions), and poor representations of listed boats (scant pictures and descriptions).

I’ve seen hundreds of examples of poor listings in the last few years, but I have no experience with bad brokers. (This is probably because I never contacted a broker representing a poor listing.) For this Fuji 40 purchase, the listing was very complete and the broker responsive. In fact, when I asked for a few specific additional pictures of the boat, they were posted to Yachtworld the next day. When I sent a list of 35 questions—most about the vessel’s history and performance—the broker worked with the buyer to get comprehensive answers within a few days.

Del Viento anchored off
Santa Cruz island, California,
circa 1994
www.sailboat-cruising-with-kids.com

When I bought the first Del Viento in 1993, the world was pre-internet and all of my broker interactions were face-to-face. The broker with whom I finally ended up doing business was awesome; she was very low-pressure and allowed me plenty of time aboard, alone, to check out the boat. I ended up living aboard in a slip adjacent to the brokerage for years, and I still maintain a friendship with the broker.

However...yacht insurance brokers seem to be a different breed. To date, my experience with yacht insurance brokers is poor, echoing the Bums current experience with yacht brokers. Aren’t we in a deep recession? These insurance brokers all seem to be mom and pop shops. Are they swamped with business? The companies I’ve contacted all advertise in Latitude 38, all claiming to insure cruising boats in Mexico. Yet, many of my emails requesting quotes go unanswered. Of the few who did initially respond, to request a copy of the survey and additional info, only a couple followed through with actual quotes. Of these, only one answered my follow-up questions.

It will be easy to choose an insurance broker.

It makes no sense.

--MR

Buyer in US, Seller in China, Broker in Italy, Boat in Mexico

Talk about globalization:

• We live in Washington, D.C.
• 
  http://www.flickr.com/photos/boliston/1732262369/The folks selling us the Fuji 40 cruising boat left the US in 1996 to cruise Mexico before moving to Shanghai, where they will get their signatures for this transaction notarized Monday at a US consulate.
• The broker is a US citizen living in Mexico, but coordinating this sale from Italy, where he is marrying an Italian national.
• The escrow is with Marine Documentation Specialists in Annacortes, Washington, where we have been emailing our paperwork and wiring our money.
• The boat is in Mexico, but documented in the US.
• The seller offered to include a spinnakker sail with this boat; it is in Arizona.

--MR